Methods and apparatus for hiding latency in network multiplayer games

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure describe methods and apparatuses that hide latency during an interaction between an attacking client device platform and a defending client device platform in a multiplayer game played over a network. The attacking client device platform predicts a successful attack will be made and delivers a hit event to the defending client device platform. In order to provide additional time to wait for a hit reply from the defending client device platform the attacking client device platform initiates an altered animation mode that lengthens the run-time of the animation. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to multiplayer games and, moreparticularly, to methods for hiding latency in network multiplayergames.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Real-time multi-user distributed applications, such as onlinemultiplayer games, are becoming increasingly popular due to theproliferation of broadband Internet access. Even as online multiplayergaming increases in popularity, there are still many drawbacks that needto be addressed. One of the major drawbacks relates to the networkperformance and data transfer speeds that may drastically influence thegaming experience.

Online multiplayer games allow players in widely distributedgeographical locations to play the same game within the same gameenvironment at the same time. The multiplayer feature allows players toenjoy interaction with other individuals, whether it is in the form ofpartnership, competition, or rivalry, and also provides players with aform of social communication. In a variety of different onlinemultiplayer game types, players may individually compete against two ormore human contestants, work cooperatively with a human partner(s) inorder to achieve a common goal, supervise activities of other players,or engage in a game that incorporates any possible combination of theabove.

Currently each online multiplayer game application deals with networkperformance such as network bandwidth. However, there can be limitationsin the quality and bandwidth of networks established or used during theplay in an online multiplayer game. These limitations may lead to delaysin data transmission and thus cause slow or discontinuous animation ofthe gameplay. For example, in melee combat based games, when a firstplayer attacks a second player, there can be latency in transmission ofdata from the first player computer to the second player computer, whichmay lead to an inconsistency in gameplay animation. The delayedanimation may affect the timing of players' reactions. As a result,players may feel the game is unfair. For example, on the first playerside, an avatar controlled by the first player may swing a club at anavatar controlled by a second player, before the avatar controlled bythe second player was able to block the club with a shield. However, onthe second player side, when the avatar controlled by the first playerbegan swinging the club, the second player's avatar had already raisedhis shield, but was killed anyway, since on the first player side, hewas still unprotected.

It is within this context that aspects of the present disclosure arise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of client device platforms for anattacker, a defender, and an observer communicating over a networkaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A-2C are block diagrams that depict the storage and transfer ofhit events and hit replies between the client device platforms for theattacker, the defender, and the observer.

FIG. 3A is a timeline that depicts the different periods that occurduring an attack animation that does not utilize any adjusted animationmodes.

FIGS. 3B-3D are timelines that depict different periods that occurduring an attack animation that include one or more adjusted animationmodes according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of hiding latencyaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C are block diagrams describing the directions for how theattacker, defender, and observer hide latency according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the following detailed description contains many specificdetails for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to thefollowing details are within the scope of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the aspects of the present disclosure described below areset forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposinglimitations upon, the claims that follow this description.

Aspects of the present disclosure describe apparatuses and methods forhiding the latency in a multiplayer game played over a network. Themultiplayer game may comprise an attacker and a defender. The attackermay be playing the game on a first client device platform, and thedefender may be playing the game on a second client device platform.Both client device platforms may be connected over a network. Accordingto aspects of the present disclosure, the attacker may initiate one ormore attacking animations. The first client device platform may predictthat the one or more attacking animations will result in a successfulhit on the defender. When a positive prediction is made, the attacker'sclient device platform may generate a hit-event. The hit-event maycomprise the one or more initiated attack animations, and a unique hitidentifier (ID) that will be used to track the results of the one ormore attack animations. The hit-event may then be stored in a hit tableon the attacker's client device platform and delivered to the defender'sclient device platform over the network connection. The playback rate ofthe one or more attack animations may be slowed down on the attacker'sclient device platform in order to lengthen the available time in whichthe attacker's client device platform may receive a response from thedefender's client device platform to indicate whether the attack wasindeed a successful one as predicted.

Upon receiving the hit-event, the defender's client device platformstores the information in a hit table and then determines if the one ormore attack animations result in a successful attack on the defender. Byway of example, the defender's client device platform may determine thatthe attack was a hit, a miss, or a blocked attack. The defender's clientdevice platform then generates a hit-response that comprises theappropriate one or more response animations and the same hit ID that wasassociated with the hit event. The hit-response is stored in the hittable and is also delivered to the attacker's client device platformover the network connection. Once received by the attacker's clientdevice platform, the hit response is stored on the attacker's hit tableas well. The attacker's client device platform may then execute thereply animations that were identified in the hit-reply.

Aspects of the present disclosure describe how the apparatuses andmethods respond to differences in the length of the latency. Before thehit-event is delivered by the attacker's client device platform, theattacker does not know how long the latency will be, and therefore needsto be able to accommodate any potential outcome. The following stepsimplemented by the attacker's client device platform depend on whetherthe hit-reply is received by the attacker: (1) during a pre-hit period;(2) after the pre-hit period; or (3) after an extended hit-pause period(or never received).

According to instances of the present disclosure if the hit-response isreceived during the pre-hit period the attacker's client device platformbuffers the response animations for playing at the point of impactbetween the attacker and the defender. According to certain instances ofthe present disclosure if the hit-response is received after the pre-hitperiod, the attacker's client device platform may implement an extendedhit-pause period that may last for a predetermined length of time. Thisallows for more time to allow the hit reply to be received by theattacker's client device platform. Once the attacker's client deviceplatform has received the hit reply, it may be stored in the attacker'shit table and the reply animations may be implemented after at least thestandard hit-pause period has been completed.

According to certain instances of the present disclosure if the hitresponse has not been received before the predetermined maximum lengthof time, the attacker's client device platform may timeout. When theattacker's client device platform times out, all data in the hit tablerelating to the hit ID that did not receive the hit reply may beremoved. Additionally, the reply animation may be replaced with atimeout animation. The timeout animation may depict a missed attack.

Aspects of the present disclosure further describe apparatuses andmethods that provide seamless animation during the transition betweenthe one or more attack animations and the one or more reply animations.This is critical because the attacking machine and the defending machinemay execute the animations at different times due to the latency betweenthe machines. In order to ensure that the attacker's animations remainin phase with the defender's animations, the attacker's client deviceplatform utilizes information from the attacker's hit table. First, uponreading the table, if the client device platform detects that he shouldbe in a hit-pause period as a result of any hit-event, then the clientdevice platform will insert a pause at the first frame of the replyanimation. Thereafter, the pause will be ended (and the reply animationwill resume once the attacker's client device platform determines thatboth: (1) the hit-pause is complete according to the attacker's clientdevice platform; and (2) the attacker's client device platform hasreceived an indication that the defender is un-paused as well.

In other words, the reply animation is buffered and played on bothattacker and defenders machine at the point of impact, e.g. the end ofpre-hit, if it is available. The reply animation may remain paused onthe first frame of this animation in the common case. The replyanimation may then “unpause” after the hit reply and resume playing.This is important since game may look considerably worse if the hitreply animation does not have the first frame play at the point of hit.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure describe similarapparatuses and methods as described above with the addition of anobserver, and an observer's client device platform. The addition of theobserver requires that the hit-event and the hit reply be sent to theobserver as well. Additionally, the observer may implement a seamlesstransition between the attacking animations and the reply animations ina manner substantially similar to that of the attacker's client deviceplatform.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting three different client deviceplatforms 102, 103, and 104 that may be able to communicate with eachother over a network 160. Each client device platform may be used by oneor more game players at any given time. For simplicity, aspects of thepresent disclosure will depict each client device platform as having asingle game player, but it should be evident to one of ordinary skill inthe art that two or more players may be playing the game from a singleclient device platform. According to FIG. 1 there is a client deviceplatform 102 that is associated with an attacking player, a clientdevice platform 103 associated with a defending player, and a clientdevice platform 104 associated with an observing player. As used herein,client device platform 102 may be referred to as the “attacker”, clientdevice platform 103 may be referred to as the “defender”, and clientdevice platform 104 may be referred to as the “observer”. In instanceswhere two or more game players are playing on a single client deviceplatform, the labels “attacker”, “defender”, and “observer” may bespecific to the individual game players and not used to define theclient device platform as a whole.

The attacking player's platform 102 may include a central processor unit(CPU) 131. By way of example, a CPU 131 may include one or moreprocessors, which may be configured according to, e.g., a dual-core,quad-core, multi-core, or Cell processor architecture. Attacker 102 mayalso include a memory 132 (e.g., RAM, DRAM, ROM, and the like). The CPU131 may execute a process-control program 133, portions of which may bestored in the memory 132. The attacker 102 may also include well-knownsupport circuits 140, such as input/output (I/O) circuits 141, powersupplies (P/S) 142, a clock (CLK) 143 and cache 144. The attacker 102may optionally include a mass storage device 134 such as a disk drive,CD-ROM drive, tape drive, or the like to store programs and/or data. Theattacker 102 may also optionally include a display unit 137. The displayunit 137 may be in the form of a cathode ray tube (CRT) or flat panelscreen that displays text, numerals, or graphical symbols. A controller145 may be connected to the attacker 102 through the I/O circuit 141 orit may be directly integrated into the attacker 102. The controller 145may facilitate interaction between the attacker 102 and a game playerwho may control the gameplay. The controller 145 may include a keyboard,mouse, joystick, light pen, hand-held controls or other device. Theattacker 102 may include a network interface 139, configured to enablethe use of Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, or other communication methods.

The network interface 139 may incorporate suitable hardware, software,firmware or some combination of two or more of these to facilitatecommunication via an electronic communications network 160. The networkinterface 139 may be configured to implement wired or wirelesscommunication over local area networks and wide area networks such asthe Internet. The attacker 102 may send and receive data and/or requestsfor files via one or more data packets over the network 160.

The attacker's platform 102 may access a game program 106 that has amulti-player functionality. There may be more than one game program 106stored in the attacker 102. The game programs may be stored in thememory 132 or in the mass storage device 134. Additionally, one or moregame programs 106 may be stored at a remote location accessible to theattacker 102 over the network 160. Each game program 106 containsexecutable game code that is used by the CPU 131 to generate animationsin response to inputs provided by the game player.

The preceding components may exchange signals with each other via aninternal system bus 150. The attacker 102 may be a general purposecomputer that becomes a special purpose computer when miming code thatimplements embodiments of the present invention as described herein. Byway of example, and not by way of limitation, the attacker 102 may beSony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 console, a PlayStation Vitahand-held console, a home computer, a cellular phone, or any othersimilar device capable of playing multi-player video games over anetwork.

The defending player's platform 103 may be a device substantiallysimilar to that of attacker 102. Elements of the defending playersplatform 103 that correspond to like elements of the attacker's platform102 are denoted by the same reference numeral with a single prime (′)appended. However, it should be noted that the specific embodiments maybe different, e.g., the attacker's platform 102 may be a PlayStation 3console, and the defender's platform 103 may be a PlayStation Vitahand-held console. Additionally, the observer's platform 104 may be adevice substantially similar to the defender's platform 103 and theattacker's platform 102. Elements of the observer's platform 104 thatcorrespond to like elements of the attacker's platform 102 are denotedby the same reference numeral with a double prime (″) appended. Again,the specific embodiments of the observer's platform 104 may differ fromthose of the attacker 102 and the defender 103. While FIG. 1 onlydepicts three client device platforms, one each of the attacker 102,defender 103, and observer 104, additional aspects of the presentdisclosure include systems with a larger or smaller number of clientdevice platforms. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, theremay only be an attacker 102 and a defender 103 when there are only twogame players playing the game 106, there may be two or more observers104 who are each observing the interactions between the attacker 102 andthe defender 103, there may be multiple defenders 103 if an attacker 102is attacking multiple opponents at the same time, there may be multipleattackers 102, if a defender 103 is being attacked by two or moreopponents at the same time, or any combination thereof.

Aspects of the present disclosure allow for peer-to-peer gaming. Eachclient device platform may be associated with an avatar, i.e., theattacker 102 is associated with an attacker avatar, the defender 103 isassociated with a defender avatar, and the observer 104 is associatedwith an observer avatar. Each client device platform may deliver stateand event information associated with their respective avatars to theother client device platforms. By way of example, and not by way oflimitation, the state information may include positions and movements ofthe avatar. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the eventinformation may include attack animations, such as swinging a club orpunching, defensive animations, such as blocking or other evasivemaneuvers, and reply animations that result from a successful attack,such as falling to the ground or being shoved backwards. The state andevent information may be delivered by each client device platform atnormal intervals, such as 30 packets per second. When displaying thegameplay on their respective display units 137, a client device platformwill utilize the state and event information to display proxies of theother avatars. For example, the attacker's avatar may be displayed onthe attacker's display unit 137 according to the state and eventinformation generated by the attacker 102, and the proxy avatars for theobserver avatar and the defender avatar may be displayed on theattacker's display unit 137 in accordance with the state and event datathat has been broadcast to the attacker 102 from the respective clientdevice platforms for the observer 104 and defender 103.

Specifically, with respect to aspects of the present disclosure, eventinformation related to attack animations and reply animations arediscussed. Hiding the latency in the delivery of these events allows forgameplay that is fair to the game players and allows for more seamlessanimations. FIGS. 2A-2C are block diagrams that depict how hit events230 and hit replies 231 are delivered and stored by the respectiveclient device platforms 102, 103, and 104.

A hit event 230 may be generated by an attacker 102 once the attackerpredicts that the one or more animations will likely result in asuccessful attack. In general the prediction of a successful attack maybe made by looking ahead in the animation to determine whether or notthe attacker will connect with any of the collision volumes on theattacker. By way of example, the prediction may be made by assuming thatthe positions of the attacker and defender are stationary. From thisstarting assumption, the future path of the attacker's weapon, such as,but not limited to, a sword, a club, or a fist, is determined to see ifat any frame after the initiation of the animation, there will be acollision between the attacker and the defender. The attack animationmay be advanced frame-by-frame from a current time to a pre-hit time andat each frame the attacker's platform 102 may check for prediction ofthe collision with the defender. Hit events 230 may comprise the one ormore attack animations that are predicted to result in a successfulattack and a corresponding hit identification (ID). The hit ID is aunique identifier that may be used by each of the client deviceplatforms 102, 103, and 104 to track the animations. In order to providea unique identification, the hit ID may comprise an 8-bit random accessmemory (RAM) component and an 8-bit modulo component. The first hitevent 230 may have a modulo component of “1” and each subsequent hitevent 230 may be incrementally increased by 1. By way of example, aseries of hit IDs may be {RAM-1, RAM-2, RAM-3, RAM-4 . . . }, where RAMis a random 8-bit number.

In FIG. 2A the attacker 102 has predicted that one or more actions ofthe attacker's avatar will likely result in a successful attack on thedefender's avatar. Therefore, a hit event 230 has been generated. Thehit event is stored in a hit table 235 located in the attacker 102. Byway of example, the hit table 235 may be located in the memory 132. Thehit table 235 is used to associate the hit event 230 with a hit reply231 that may be received from the defender 103 in the future.Additionally, the attacker 102 delivers the hit event 230 to thedefender 103 and he observer 104 over the network 160, as indicated bythe dashed arrows.

In FIG. 2B the observer 104 and the defender 103 have received the hitevent 230 and stored it in their respective hit tables 235. The observer104 should preferably receive and store the hit event 230 in order forthe observer 104 to properly display the attack and response animationson its display unit 137″. The information stored in the observer's table235 will indicate when animations, such as a hit pause should beinitiated and ceased.

In addition to storing the hit event 230 in its hit table 235, thedefender 103 may also resolve whether the one or more attack animationscorrespond to a successful attack. The problem of defenders 103 beingharmed when they were already protected from an attack, as may be thecase in the prior art, is prevented by resolving the success of anattack on the defender 103. Instead of relying on proxy information thatmay not reflect the most recent position of the defender's avatar (asmight occur if the attack was resolved by the attacker 102) the one ormore attack animations are resolved using the most current state andevent information available to the defender 103. After resolving theattack, the defender 103 may generate a hit reply 231. The hit reply 231is stored in the defender's hit table 235 and is also delivered over thenetwork to the attacker 102 and the observer 104. The hit reply maycomprise information identifying one or more reply animations and thesame hit ID that was associated with the hit event 230. The one or morereply animations will correspond to the result of the attack. Forexample, if the one or more attack animations were determined to resultin a successful attack, then the one or more reply animations mayinclude animations that show the defender's avatar falling to the groundor being knocked backwards. Alternatively, if the attack was determinedto be unsuccessful, the reply animation may include the defender'savatar blocking the attack, or avoiding the attack altogether. Since thehit event 230 is resolved immediately upon receipt by the defender 103,any blocking or avoidance actions initiated by the defender 103 afterthe receipt will not alter the result of the attack. The hit event 230may be received before there is contact between the attacking anddefending avatars, and therefore, it may be desirable to disablesubsequent blocking or avoidance animations of the defender's avataronce the hit event 230 has been received. This will prevent the gameplayer controlling the defending avatar from feeling like they were hiteven though they were in the middle of a blocking motion.

In FIG. 2C the attacker 102 and the observer 104 have received the hitreply and have stored the data in their respective hit tables 235. Theattacker 102 and the observer 104 may now be able to display the entireinteraction between the attacker's avatar and the defender's avatar. Thetransmission of the hit event 230 and the receipt of the hit reply 231must take place before the attack animation initiated by the attacker102 has been completed in order for the animation to appear seamless.When latency is large enough that the data cannot make a round tripbetween the attacker 102 and the defender 103 before the attackanimation is completed, the game play suffers. Therefore, the ability tohide the latency allows for improved gameplay in a multiplayer setting.

Aspects of the present disclosure hide latency with the use of one ormore animation alteration modes. FIG. 3A is a standard attack timeline300 in a system that does not utilize latency hiding techniques. FIGS.3B-3D depict examples of extended attack timelines 301, 301′, and 302that utilize altered attack animation modes in order to hide latenciesaccording to aspects of the present disclosure. It should be noted thatthe timelines depicted in FIGS. 3A-3D are not to scale. In FIG. 3A, thestandard timeline 300 begins when one or more attack animations areinitiated at 310. By way of example, an attack animation may be when anavatar controlled by the attacker 102 begins swinging a club at anavatar controlled by the defender 103. The time period after the attackanimation has been initiated at 310 and before contact between theattacker's avatar and the defender's avatar is made at 312 is defined asthe pre-hit period 311. The pre-hit period 311 may be a variable lengthof time depending on factors such as, but not limited to, weapon type,distance between avatars, power of the attack, strength of the attackingavatar, or any combination thereof. By way of example, and not by way oflimitation, the pre-hit period 311 may be approximately 100 ms. In thiscase, where no latency hiding techniques are implemented, the hit reply231 is received by the attacker 102 before the end of the pre-hit period311. Once the hit reply 231 has been received, a reply animation 314 isbuffered so it may be initiated once the contact point 312 has beenreached. The playback rate of the first frame of the reply animation 314may be substantially reduced or even paused for a brief period of timein order to produce a hit-pause effect. The length of the hit-pauseeffect is considered the hit-pause period 313. The hit-pause period 313may be a variable length of time depending on factors such as, but notlimited to, weapon type, distance between avatars, power of the attack,strength of the attacking or defending avatar, size of the attacking ordefending avatar, or any combination thereof. By way of example, and notby way of limitation, the playback rate of the first frame of the replyanimation may be slowed down to a small but non zero value, e.g., toabout 1/1000 of normal speed. After the end of the hit-pause period 313,the reply animation 314 may resume a normal playback rate. In an idealcase the hit reply animation may be initiated on attacker and observermachines at the point of hit, e.g., at end of the pre-hit but before hitpause.

FIG. 3B depicts an extended attack timeline 301 that incorporates analtered animation mode according to aspects of the present disclosure.Timeline 301 is substantially similar to that of the attack timeline 300with the exception that the pre-hit period 311 is replaced with anextended pre-hit period 315. The extension of the pre-hit period 311provides additional time for the attacker 102 to receive the hit reply231 before contact between the attacker's avatar and the defender'savatar is made at 312.

The extended pre-hit period 315 is substantially similar to pre-hitperiod 311 with the exception that the playback rate of the extendedpre-hit period 315 is slowed down compared to the playback rate of thepre-hit period 315. As the playback rate of the extended pre-hit periodis decreased, the amount of latency that may be hidden is increased.However, decreasing the playback rate of the extended pre-hit period 311too much may result in attack animations that appear sluggish andunresponsive to the game player. The limit of how much the playback rateof the extended pre-hit period 315 may be reduced is dependent on thetype of game, and the expectations of the players playing the game. Byway of example, in a combat type game the playback rate of the extendedpre-hit period 315 may be approximately two-thirds of the playback rateof the pre-hit period 311 without the animations appearing sluggish andunresponsive. As such, a pre-hit period 311 that lasts 100 ms may havean extended pre-hit period 315 that lasts approximately 150 ms. Ideally,the additional 50 ms is sufficient to provide time to receive the hitreply 231 before the contact between the attacker's avatar and thedefender's avatar is made at 312.

However, if the hit reply 231 is not received before the contact point312, then the hit-pause period 313 may also be used as an additionallength of time to hide the latency as shown in FIG. 3C. Before enteringinto the hit pause period 313, the attack animation 310 may be paused ator just prior to the contact point 312. At some point into the hit-pauseperiod 313 the hit reply 231 may be received. Once received, the replyanimation 314 may be initiated at a reduced playback rate, such as aplayback rate of about 1/1000 of normal speed. The reduced playback rateduring hit pause is sufficiently slow that the animation is effectively“paused”. For example, slowing the animation to one-half of normal speedmay be too fast. A playback rate greater than zero (e.g., 1/1000 of thenormal rate) is desirable so long as it is slow enough that theanimation is practically paused. However, a very slow (as opposed tozero) rate of playback may be desirable for visual effect. A slowedanimation may look better than one that is completely stopped. After thehit-pause period 313 has ended, the reply animation 314 may continue atthe normal playback rate.

It is noted that during the hit pause period the animation of thedefender platform 103 may also freeze. The defender may also play a hitreply animation, e.g., corresponding to “getting hit” or “blocking” andthe first frame of the defender's reply animation may freeze (e.g.,timescale at 1/1000 normal speed, as with the attack animation) forvisual impact during the hit pause period.

Extended timeline 302 in FIG. 3D provides an additional aspect of thepresent disclosure that provides even more time for hiding the latencyif the hit reply 231 has not been received by the end of the hit-pauseperiod 313. In this circumstance, the altered animation mode may furthercomprise a supplemental hit-pause period 316. The supplemental hit-pauseperiod 316 extends the length of the original hit-pause period 313 inorder to allow for additional time for the hit reply 231 to be receivedby the attacker 102. The supplemental hit-pause period 316 may be anunlimited amount of time. In this case, the supplemental hit-pauseperiod may be not end until the hit reply 231 is received. However, ifthe amount of time used for the supplemental hit-pause 316 is too great,the gameplay may become overly sluggish and unresponsive. Typically, thesupplemental hit-pause 316 may provide an additional 200-300 ms beforethe pause becomes too distracting to the game player. If by the end ofthe supplemental hit-pause period 316, there still has not been a hitreply 231, then the attacker 102 may assume that a hit reply 231 willnever come. In this instance, the attacker 102 may timeout. When theattacker 102 timeouts, the attacker will erase all data in its datatable that corresponds to the hit ID that was not responded to andunpause from the supplemental hit-pause period 316. At the unpause, atimeout animation 314′ may be initiated. By way of example, and not byway of limitation, the timeout animation 314′ may be a continuation ofthe attack animation resulting in a missed attack.

An additional aspect of the present disclosure involves the process ofexiting the hit-pause period 313 (or, if needed, the supplementalhit-pause period 316) in a manner that allow for the reply animation forboth the attacking and defending avatars to be synchronized. Due to thelatency that has been hidden, there may be instances where the defender103 initiates the reply animation period 314 before the attacker 102 orthe observer 104 initiates the response animation period 314. In suchsituations, the proxy avatar of the defender 103 may be shown as movingon the attacker's display unit 137 before the attacker's avatar hasbegun the reply animation period 314. This scenario creates a disjointedanimation and is undesirable. In order to ensure that the transitionfrom the hit-pause period 313 (or the supplemental hit-pause period 316)to the reply animation period 314 occurs at the same time for both thelocal avatar and the proxy avatar, the client device platform should notmake the transition until it has received confirmation that both theattacker's avatar and the defender's avatar have reached the transitionpoint.

From the perspective of the defender 103 the determination of when toun-pause from and begin the reply animation period 314 is relativelysimple. If the defender 103 determines that an attack has beensuccessful, and the one or more attack animations included in the hitevent 230 include an instruction to implement a hit-pause period 313,then the defender 103 will initiate the hit-pause period 313. There isno need to add in a supplemental hit-pause period 316 because there isno latency that needs to be hidden, because no additional information isneeded by the defender 103 to initiate the reply animation. Once thehit-pause period 313 is completed, the defender 103 may initiate thereply animation period 314 for both the local avatar (i.e., thedefender's avatar) and the proxy avatar (i.e., the attacker's avatar).

In order for the attacker 102 to determine if it can make the transitionfrom the hit-pause period 313 (or the supplemental hit pause period 316)to the reply animation period 314 the attacker 102 needs to know thatboth: (1) the state and event information in the attacker's hit table235 indicates that the defender's proxy avatar is no longer in thehit-pause period 313; and (2) that the attacker 102 is no longer in thehit-pause period 313 or a supplemental hit-pause period 316. If eitherone of the two conditions is not met, then the attacker 102 must remainpaused. Therefore, the transition from the hit-pause period 313 to thereply animation period 314 may occur as a result of two separatescenarios.

According to the first scenario, the attacker 102 may determine that thehit-pause period 313 for his avatar has been exceeded and is awaiting aresponse from the defender 103 that indicates that the defender's avatarhas exited the hit-pause period 313 as well. The indication that thedefender's avatar has exited the hit-pause period 313 may be deliveredas part of the state information that is broadcasted to each clientdevice platform. Once the attacker 102 receives an update that indicatesthe defender's avatar has un-paused, then the attacker 102 may un-pauseas well. The first scenario typically occurs when the hit reply 231 isreceived before the end of the extended pre-hit period 315.

The second scenario typically occurs when the attacker 102 needs to adda supplemental hit-pause period 316 in order to allow for a longerlatency. In this situation, the defender 103 may have alreadytransitioned from the hit-pause period 313 to the reply animation period314. Even though the defender 103 may be broadcasting to the otherclient device platforms that he is un-paused, the defendant's proxyavatar displayed on the attacker's display unit 137 may be kept in afrozen state because the attacker 102 has not yet received the updatedstate information in the hit reply 231 due to latencies in the system.Additionally, while in a hit-pause period the attacker 102 may ignorenormal position updates broadcast from the defender 103. Therefore, thedefender's local avatar (i.e., the position of the defender's avatar asdisplayed on the defender's display unit 137′) may have already begunmoving backwards, even though the defender's proxy avatar (i.e., theposition of the defender's avatar as displayed on the attacker's displayunit 137) is still frozen. The transition to the reply animation period314 may then be made once the attacker 102 receives an update that thehit-pause period 313 is completed according to the information in hishit table 235. When the attacker 102 finally does make the transition tothe reply animation period 314, the defender's local avatar and thedefender's proxy avatar may be in different positions. Therefore, theattacker 102 may implement one or more actions in order to unite thelocations of the defender's proxy avatar and the true position of thedefender's local avatar. By way of example, and not by way oflimitation, after the attacker 102 has completed the supplementalhit-pause 316, the attacker 102 may interpolate a trajectory from theincorrect position (i.e., where the defender's proxy avatar is locatedduring the hit-pause) that will quickly cause the proxy avatar of thedefender to converge with the location and trajectory of the defender'slocal avatar. The conditions needed for making the transition from thehit-pause period 313 to the reply animation period 314 with respect tothe observer 104 are substantially similar to that of the attacker 102.

While in hit pause on all machines for which the defender is a remoteproxy object (attacker and observer machines), normal position updatesfrom the defender machine may be ignored while hit paused. Then when thehit pause is completed, the normal interpolation from the currentposition to the newly updated position quickly interpolates from theincorrect position, back into the trajectory that the defender has beenput on as a result of the outcome of the attack. This may be implementedby a physical position update where we tween the paused position to thepath of the defender resulting from the hit. Position updates arecommonly used in game a to synchronize player movement. Basically, onthe defenders machine, the defender has already reacted to the hit. Onthe attacker's machine the defenders reaction is delayed until theattacker's machine unpauses. As an illustration of this, imagine abaseball bat hitting a baseball crisply. The baseball (defender) isalready flying in the air from the baseball's point of view. Thebaseball is kept frozen on the bat at the batter's (attacker's) machineuntil the batter's machine is ready to unpause the hit pause. Then asthe baseball flies through the air on the batter's machine thebaseball's position is interpolated such that it rapidly converges withthe path of the baseball already flying through the air on thebaseball's machine.

The previously described mechanisms for transitioning from a hit-pauseperiod 313 (or a supplemental hit-pause period 316) to the replyanimation period 314 also apply when there are multiple hit events 230and hit replies 231 outstanding. In many multi-player games a singlegame player may be both an attacker and a defender at any given time, orthey may be attacked by a plurality of other players at the same time.Therefore, when determining whether to make the transition from ahit-pause period 313 to a reply animation period 314, it is important toanalyze all outstanding hit-pause periods 313 and supplemental hit-pauseperiod 316. For example, if you are an attacker 102 who has delivered asingle hit event 230 to a defender 103, but the defender 103 has beenattacked by other players at approximately the same time, then you mayneed to wait until the defender 102 has indicated that they have exitedall of the hit-pauses from the proximate attacks before you exit the hitpause period 313 as well.

As shown in FIG. 4, the attacker 102 and the defender 103 may beconfigured to implement a method for hiding latencies in a multi-playergame according to an inventive method 400. Various aspects of the method400 may be implemented by execution of computer executable instructionsrunning on the attacker 102 the defender 103 and/or the observer 104.Specifically, an attacker 102 may be configured, e.g., by suitableprogramming, to implement certain attacker instructions 481. Inaddition, a defender 103 may be configured to implement certain defenderinstructions 482. Further, an observer 104 may be configured toimplement certain observer instructions 483. In FIG. 4 the dashed arrowsrepresent the flow of data between the attacker 102, the defender 103,and/or the observer 104 over the network 160.

Initially, at 484 the attacker 102 may predict that one or more attackactions initiated by the attacker 102 will likely result in a successfulattack against the defender 103. Thereafter, the attacker 102 maygenerate a hit event 230 at block 485. The hit event may comprise theone or more attack actions and a unique hit ID. Additionally, the hitevent 230 may be stored in a hit table 235 located on the attacker 102.The attacker 102 may then deliver the hit event 230 to the defender 103and the observer 104 at block 486. In order to provide more availabletime for hiding potential latencies in the data transfers between theattacker 102 and the defender 103, the attacker may initiate an alteredanimation mode at 488. The altered animation mode may comprise utilizingan extended hit-pause period 315 and/or adding a supplemental hit-pauseperiod 316 after the hit-pause period 313 has expired if more time isneeded to hide latency. While the attacker 102 is in the alteredanimation mode, the defender 103 may receive the hit event 230 at block487. The defender 103 may also store the hit event 230 in a hit table235 located on the defender. Similarly, the observer 104 may receiveevent 230 at block 487′ and store the hit event on a local hit table235. Upon receipt of the hit event, the defender 103 may determine ifthe hit event 230 will result in a successful or unsuccessful attack onthe defender 103 at block 489. After resolving the hit event 230, thedefender may generate a hit reply 231 at block 490. The hit reply 230may comprise information identifying the one or more reply animationsthat should be displayed in accordance with the success or failure ofthe one or more attack animations. The hit reply 231 may furthercomprise the hit ID that was associated with the hit event 230. Thedefender 102 may also store the hit reply in its local hit table 235. Atblock 491 the defender 103 may then deliver the hit reply 231 to theattacker 102 and the observer 104 over the network 160. The attacker 102receives the hit reply 231 at block 492 and may store the hit event 231in the attacker's local hit table 235. Likewise, the observer 104 mayreceive the hit reply 231 at block 492′ and may store the hit event 231in the observer's local hit table 235. The hit reply 231 may be receivedby the attacker 102 before the extended pre-hit period 316 has finished,during the hit-pause period 313, during the extended hit-pause period316. If the hit reply 231 has not been received before the extendedhit-pause period 316 has expired, then an assumed hit reply 231′ may begenerated by the attacker 102. The assumed hit reply 231′ may ideally,but not necessarily, assume that the one or more attack actions did notproduce a successful attack. At block 493, the defender 103 may executethe one or more reply animations in accordance with the informationincluded in the hit reply 231. At block 494, the attacker 102 mayexecute the one or more reply animations in accordance with theinformation included in the hit reply 231. At block 494′ the observer104 may execute the one or more reply animations in a mannersubstantially similar to that of the attacker 102. For each of theclient device platforms 102, 103, and 104 the transition from thehit-pause period 313 (or the extended hit-pause period 316) to the replyanimation period 314 may be made once they have determined that,according to their local information, the hit-pause period 313 (or theextended hit-pause period 316) have completed, and that they havereceived the defender's 102 broadcast his local avatar has completed thehit-pause 313 period as well.

As shown in FIG. 5A, a set of attacker instructions 581 may beimplemented e.g., by the attacker 102. The attacker instructions 581 maybe formed on a nontransitory computer readable medium such as a memory132 or the mass storage device 134. The attacker instructions 581 mayalso be part of the process control program 133. At 584 the instructionsmay include instructions for predicting that a successful attack will bemade against the defender 102. Next, at 585 the attacker 102 may beinstructed to generate a hit event 230. The instructions 581 may thenhave the attacker 102 deliver the hit event 230 to the defender 103 andthe observer 104. Thereafter, the attacker 102 may be instructed toinitiate an altered animation mode at 588. At 593 the attacker may beprovided with instructions for receiving a hit reply 231 from thedefender 103. Finally, the attacker 102 may be instructed to execute theone or more reply animations in accordance with the hit reply 231 at594.

As shown in FIG. 5B, a set of defender instructions 582 may beimplemented e.g., by the defender 103. The defender instructions 582 maybe formed on a nontransitory computer readable medium such as a memory132′ or the mass storage device 134′. The defender instructions 582 mayalso be part of the process control program 133′. At 587 the defenderinstructions 582 may include instructions for receiving a hit event 230from the attacker 102. Upon receipt of the hit event 230, the defender103 may be instructed to resolve the hit event 230 locally in order todetermine if the one or more attack actions that were included in thehit event 230 result in a successful or an unsuccessful attack againstthe defender 103 at 589. Next, at 590 the defender 103 may be providedwith instructions for generating a hit reply 231. The instructions thenmay direct the defender 102 to deliver the hit reply 231 to the attacker102 and the observer 103 at 591. Finally, at 493 the defender 103 may beinstructed to execute the one or more reply animations that may bepresent in the hit reply 231.

As shown in FIG. 5C, a set of observer instructions 583 may beimplemented e.g., by the observer 104. The defender instructions 583 maybe formed on a nontransitory computer readable medium such as a memory132″ or the mass storage device 134″. The observer instructions 583 mayalso be part of the process control program 133″. At 587′ the observerinstructions 583 may include instructions for receiving a hit event 230from the attacker 102. Thereafter, at 592′ the observer 104 may beinstructed to receive a hit reply 231 from the defender 103. Finally, at594′ the observer 104 may be instructed to execute the one or more replyanimations that may be present in the hit reply 231.

While the above is a complete description of the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, it is possible to use various alternatives,modifications and equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the presentinvention should be determined not with reference to the abovedescription but should, instead, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with their full scope of equivalents. Any featuredescribed herein, whether preferred or not, may be combined with anyother feature described herein, whether preferred or not. In the claimsthat follow, the indefinite article “A”, or “An” refers to a quantity ofone or more of the item following the article, except where expresslystated otherwise. The appended claims are not to be interpreted asincluding means-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation isexplicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase “means for.”

1. On an attacking client device platform configured to operate on anetwork, a method for hiding latency during an interaction between afirst avatar controlled by the attacking client device platform and asecond avatar controlled by a defending client device platform in amultiplayer game played over the network, comprising: a) predicting thatone or more attack animations performed by the first avatar may resultin a successful attack on the second avatar, wherein the one or moreattack animations comprise at least a pre-hit period; b) generating ahit event that corresponds to the one or more attack animations, whereinthe hit event comprises a hit identifier (ID) that is unique to the hitevent; c) delivering the hit event to at least the defending clientdevice platform over the network connection; d) initiating an alteredanimation mode during the display of the one or more attack animationson the attacking client device platform, wherein the altered animationmode comprises at least an extended pre-hit period having a slowed downplayback rate that replaces the pre-hit period for the attacking clientdevice platform; e) receiving a hit reply from the defending clientdevice platform over the network connection wherein the hit reply isidentified with the same hit ID as the hit event; wherein the hit replydetermines whether a successful attack was made on the second avatar;and wherein the hit reply further comprises information identifying oneor more reply animations to be displayed once a reply animation periodis initiated; and f) initiating the reply animation period after theattacking client device platform determines that the first avatar hasfinished displaying the one or more attack animations in the alteredanimation mode and the attacking client device platform has received asignal from the defending client device platform that indicates that thesecond avatar has initiated the reply animation period.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the hit reply is received before the end of theextended pre-hit portion of the one or more attack animations.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more attack animations furthercomprise a hit-pause period, wherein the hit-pause period begins afterthe extended pre-hit period has ended.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe hit reply is received after the extended pre-hit period has ended.5. The method of claim 4, wherein the altered animation mode furthercomprises: a supplemental hit-pause period, wherein the supplementalhit-pause period is added after hit-pause period.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein the supplemental hit-pause period extends a length of timeuntil the hit reply is received.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinsupplemental hit-pause period extends a length of time until apredetermined timeout period has elapsed.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising: deleting all data corresponding to the hit ID, andreplacing the reply animation with a timeout animation when thepredetermined timeout period has elapsed before the hit reply isreceived.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the timeout animationcorresponds to a missed attack.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: delivering the hit event to an observing client deviceplatform.
 11. An attacking client device platform configured to operateon a network, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to theprocessor; one or more instructions embodied in memory for execution bythe processor, the instructions being configured for hiding latencyduring an interaction between a first avatar controlled by the attackingclient device platform and a second avatar controlled by a defendingclient device platform in a multiplayer game played over the network,the method comprising: a) predicting that one or more attack animationsperformed by the first avatar may result in a successful attack on thesecond avatar, wherein the one or more attack animations comprise atleast a pre-hit period; b) generating a hit event that corresponds tothe one or more attack animations, wherein the hit event comprises a hitidentifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; c) delivering the hitevent to at least the defending client device platform over the networkconnection; d) initiating an altered animation mode during the displayof the one or more attack animations on the attacking client deviceplatform, wherein the altered animation mode comprises at least anextended pre-hit period having a slowed down playback rate that replacesthe pre-hit period for the attacking client device platform; e)receiving a hit reply from the defending client device platform over thenetwork connection wherein the hit reply is identified with the same hitID as the hit event; wherein the hit reply determines whether asuccessful attack was made on the second avatar; and wherein the hitreply further comprises information identifying one or more replyanimations to be displayed once a reply animation period is initiated;and f) initiating the reply animation period after the attacking clientdevice platform determines that the first avatar has finished displayingthe one or more attack animations in the altered animation mode and theattacking client device platform has received a signal from thedefending client device platform that indicates that the second avatarhas initiated the reply animation period.
 12. A nontransitory computerreadable medium containing program instructions for hiding latencyduring an interaction between a first avatar controlled by the attackingclient device platform and a second avatar controlled by a defendingclient device platform in a multiplayer game played over the network,and wherein execution of the program instructions by one or moreprocessors of a computer system causes the one or more processors tocarry out the steps of: a) predicting that one or more attack animationsperformed by the first avatar may result in a successful attack on thesecond avatar, wherein the one or more attack animations comprise atleast a pre-hit period; b) generating a hit event that corresponds tothe one or more attack animations, wherein the hit event comprises a hitidentifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; c) delivering the hitevent to at least the defending client device platform over the networkconnection; d) initiating an altered animation mode during the displayof the one or more attack animations on the attacking client deviceplatform, wherein the altered animation mode comprises at least anextended pre-hit period having a slowed down playback rate that replacesthe pre-hit period for the attacking client device platform; e)receiving a hit reply from the defending client device platform over thenetwork connection wherein the hit reply is identified with the same hitID as the hit event; wherein the hit reply determines whether asuccessful attack was made on the second avatar; and wherein the hitreply further comprises information identifying one or more replyanimations to be displayed once a reply animation period is initiated;and f) initiating the reply animation period after the attacking clientdevice platform determines that the first avatar has finished displayingthe one or more attack animations in the altered animation mode and theattacking client device platform has received a signal from thedefending client device platform that indicates that the second avatarhas initiated the reply animation period.
 13. In a defending clientdevice platform configured to operate on a network, a method for hidinglatency during an interaction between a first avatar controlled by anattacking client device platform and a second avatar controlled by thedefending client device platform in a multiplayer game played over thenetwork, comprising: a) receiving a hit event from the attacking clientdevice platform over the network, wherein the hit event corresponds toone or more attack animations performed by the first avatar in order toattack the second avatar, wherein the hit event comprises a hitidentifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; b) determining if thehit event resulted in a successful attack on the second avatar; c)generating a hit reply, wherein the hit reply comprises informationidentifying one or more reply animations that will be displayed once areply animation period is initiated and is identified with the same hitID as the hit event; d) delivering the hit reply to at least theattacking client device platform; and e) initiating the reply animationperiod after the one or more attack animations have been completed. 14.A nontransitory computer readable medium containing program instructionsfor hiding latency during an interaction between a first avatarcontrolled by an attacking client device platform and a second avatarcontrolled by the defending client device platform in a multiplayer gameplayed over the network, and wherein execution of the programinstructions by one or more processors of a computer system causes theone or more processors to carry out the steps of: a) receiving a hitevent from the attacking client device platform over the network,wherein the hit event corresponds to one or more attack animationsperformed by the first avatar in order to attack the second avatar,wherein the hit event comprises a hit identifier (ID) that is unique tothe hit event; b) determining if the hit event resulted in a successfulattack on the second avatar; c) generating a hit reply, wherein the hitreply comprises information identifying one or more reply animationsthat will be displayed once a reply animation period is initiated and isidentified with the same hit ID as the hit event; d) delivering the hitreply to at least the attacking client device platform; and e)initiating the reply animation period after the one or more attackanimations have been completed.
 15. A defending client device platformconfigured to operate on a network, comprising: a processor; a memorycoupled to the processor; one or more instructions embodied in memoryfor execution by the processor, the instructions being configured tohide latency during an interaction between a first avatar controlled byan attacking client device platform and a second avatar controlled bythe defending client device platform in a multiplayer game played overthe network, the method comprising: a) receiving a hit event from theattacking client device platform over the network, wherein the hit eventcorresponds to one or more attack animations performed by the firstavatar in order to attack the second avatar, wherein the hit eventcomprises a hit identifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; b)determining if the hit event resulted in a successful attack on thesecond avatar; c) generating a hit reply, wherein the hit replycomprises information identifying one or more reply animations that willbe displayed once a reply animation period is initiated and isidentified with the same hit ID as the hit event; d) delivering the hitreply to at least the attacking client device platform; and e)initiating the reply animation period after the one or more attackanimations have been completed.
 16. In an observing client deviceplatform configured to operate on a network, a method for hiding latencyduring an interaction between a first avatar controlled by an attackingclient device platform and a second avatar controlled by a defendingclient device platform in a multiplayer game played over the network,comprising: a) receiving a hit event from the attacking client deviceplatform over the network, wherein the hit event corresponds to one ormore attack animations performed by the first avatar in order to attackthe second avatar, wherein the hit event comprises a hit identifier (ID)that is unique to the hit event; b) receiving a hit reply from thedefending client device platform over the network connection wherein thehit reply is identified with the same hit ID as the hit event; whereinthe hit reply determines whether a successful attack was made on thesecond avatar; and wherein the hit reply further comprises informationidentifying one or more reply animations that will be displayed once areply animation period is initiated; and c) initiating the replyanimation period after the observing client device platform determinesthat the one or more attack animations have been finished and theobserving client device platform has received a signal from thedefending client device platform that indicates that the second avatarhas initiated the reply animation period.
 17. A nontransitory computerreadable medium containing program instructions for hiding latencyduring an interaction between a first avatar controlled by an attackingclient device platform and a second avatar controlled by a defendingclient device platform in a multiplayer game played over the network,and wherein execution of the program instructions by one or moreprocessors of a computer system causes the one or more processors tocarry out the steps of: a) receiving a hit event from the attackingclient device platform over the network, wherein the hit eventcorresponds to one or more attack animations performed by the firstavatar in order to attack the second avatar, wherein the hit eventcomprises a hit identifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; b)receiving a hit reply from the defending client device platform over thenetwork connection wherein the hit reply is identified with the same hitID as the hit event; wherein the hit reply determines whether asuccessful attack was made on the second avatar; and wherein the hitreply further comprises information identifying one or more replyanimations that will be displayed once a reply animation period isinitiated; and c) initiating the reply animation period after theobserving client device platform determines that the one or more attackanimations have been finished and the observing client device platformhas received a signal from the defending client device platform thatindicates that the second avatar has initiated the reply animationperiod.
 18. An observing client device platform configured to operate ona network, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor;one or more instructions embodied in memory for execution by theprocessor, the instructions being configured to hide latency during aninteraction between a first avatar controlled by an attacking clientdevice platform and a second avatar controlled by a defending clientdevice platform in a multiplayer game played over the network, themethod comprising: a) receiving a hit event from the attacking clientdevice platform over the network, wherein the hit event corresponds toone or more attack animations performed by the first avatar in order toattack the second avatar, wherein the hit event comprises a hitidentifier (ID) that is unique to the hit event; b) receiving a hitreply from the defending client device platform over the networkconnection wherein the hit reply is identified with the same hit ID asthe hit event; wherein the hit reply determines whether a successfulattack was made on the second avatar; and wherein the hit reply furthercomprises information identifying one or more reply animations that willbe displayed once a reply animation period is initiated; and c)initiating the reply animation period after the observing client deviceplatform determines that the one or more attack animations have beenfinished and the observing client device platform has received a signalfrom the defending client device platform that indicates that the secondavatar has initiated the reply animation period.